Storm
by iAir Nomad
Summary: LOL, sorry for the non-creative title. Anyways, a huge storm sends Chihiro to run out of her room at the Bathhouse in fear, and she runs into Haku, who comforts her. It's supposed to be an in-between scene from the movie. R&R!


**Hey, all! I've been in such a Spirited Away mood (I promise I will update Emotions Galore soon!), and thought I would write a oneshot for Chihiro and Haku. Woop woop! Their love was really true in the movie. I just wished there were a few in-between times of just downtime for the both of them. So let's just pretend there is, and this is one of them. =) Enjoy!  
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"Hey Lin, can we go to the pigpen today?" Chihiro asked. She longed to see her parents again. She never liked seeing them in their pig forms, but the fact that they were still _there_ and not prepared for lunch gave her some reassurance.

"The pigpen?" Lin echoed, concern washing over her features. "Sen, you're not allowed to go there." 

"But you are," Chihiro argued. "You probably have to clean it or tend to the gardens once in a while, right?" 

Lin looked away and sighed. "I suppose. But _no one_ can know about this," she pointed warningly at Chihiro and grabbed some brooms and other cleaning utensils. "Alright, c'mon."

Chihiro happily obliged.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

They went through the gardens, the same route Chihiro and Haku went a couple mornings ago. Chihiro remained silent as she followed close behind Lin like a lost puppy.

Once they arrived, Lin handed the young girl a broom. "Sweep up the perimeter of the pigpens for now. I'll feed them and get on the gardents. And try to be quick, I don't want you to be caught here and get in serious trouble—and me, too."

Chihiro nodded and immediately set off to work. She swept the floor of hay and any random garbage lying around in none-too-graceful movements, but swift. She gave occasional glances at her parents, lying there in their own filth, sleeping. The sight almost caused tears to Chihiro's eyes, but she focused again on her work, with a mental reminder to her parents that she would save them and everything would be okay.

"Oh, _dang_." She heard Lin exclaim.

"What is it?" Chihiro responded, stopping midway in her sweeping. Lin motioned for her to stand at the doorway, and she went to take a look. Lin was pointing at the sky, where a giant cloud stretching for miles and as grey as the night was slowly hovering over and blocking the sun. Several more threatening clouds followed and combined.

"Looks like there's going to be a storm this evening. A big one." Lin muttered.

"How big?" Chihiro asked in a suddenly worried tone.

"I don't know. We'll see," she sighed. "Well, go on and finish up then, and we'll head back. I'll do the rest when the storm passes."

"Yes, ma'am!" Chihiro picked up her broom and resumed sweeping, three times faster.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

The storm was proven to be worse than Chihiro, or anyone for that matter, anticipated. When it was time to go to bed, no one was more terrified than the poor human girl. Everyone else grumbled about the rain crashing down with the hail mixed in, already sick of it. It seemed as though the spirits had endured this type of weather hundreds of times before and were accustomed to it.

But not Chihiro. She lie in her bed next to Lin's, shaking uncontrollably. Her sobbing was drowned out by the roar of thunder or the clash of lightning every couple seconds. All the other women attempted to drown it out by covering their heads with pillows and piles of blankets, and some just sat up to watch the light show.

Chihiro shook almost violently now as the thunder, lightning, and moaning winds grew louder and stronger. Chihiro was sure that if the winds became any more ferocious that it would tear the roof right off.

Finally, the loudest _BOOM_ of thunder had Chihiro thrusting off her covers and out the bedroom door. Lin called loudly to her, telling her to come back, but the girl did not stop. She had to find someone—_anyone_—that would understand her fear and hold her, to tell her it was going to be okay. It was at this time she missed her parents, more than anything.

Chihiro scurried through the dark and empty halls in one-hundred-percent panic, flying up and down stairs and not having a particular location in mind. Just run, was her first instinct. Chihiro then cried. Tears slid down her cheeks and floated past her as she ran. She gulped, realizing she was completely alone as of now. She thought, maybe leaving the group wasn't such a good idea. But she couldn't go back, she didn't know _how_ to get back. She always relied on Lin to lead them.

Another crash of thunder rung through her ears and caused her entire body to vibrate. One lightning bolt after another continued to threaten the bathhouse, and the strong winds sounded of freakish groans that rattled the glass of the sliding doors. All of this combined sounded like a massacre.

And through all of it, unable to gather her thoughts or think of where to find comfort, Chihiro kept running full speed down long hallways. She screamed and cried, but the storm kept her voice silent. She never thought she would have to ever experience such terror as this.

Then, while dashing through another long hall, on the other side was a walking figure, looking completely calm and collected. As Chihiro neared, she recognized the figure to be…

"_HAKU!_"

Haku stopped momentarily before speeding up his pace into a light jog. The two came at each other and clashed, nearly falling over. Chihiro wrapped her arms around the boy in a death grip as more chaos unfolded just out the windows beside them. Another lightning bolt became dangerously close. She cried in his clothing, thankful he was here in the bathhouse, thankful for his presence, for him holding her back this tight. Her panic instantly dropped a few.

"Sen, what are you doing not in your room with Lin and the others?" Haku yelled through the noise in her ear. But Chihiro didn't answer, only clutched onto him tighter and cried harder. Haku realized this was not the time to be asking such foolish questions. He wanted to see her tears go away. He wanted her to feel safe, and that was his duty. That was all that mattered.

"Come with me." He murmured, smoothing her hair and down her cheek. Her eyes were blurred with tears and her face looked puffy. She sobbed more and leaned into his shoulder. He again realized she didn't have the strength to get up and run again, she was out of energy. He slid his arm under her legs and the other arm around her back, carrying her bridal-style. He stood up and brought her fragile, thin, trembling body against his chest, and then darted through the halls as fast as he could. He flew up more and more steps. Chihiro was confident they were headed to Yubaba's room. But alas, they weren't. It was a room directly below hers. Chihiro had never been in this room before, but she assumed it to be Haku's. It was comfortable and small, not nearly as fancy as Yubaba's, but Chihiro much rather preferred simplicity. The walls were a deep shade of green. A lantern was lit in the corner, and a desk in another corner across from it. Near the lantern was a small Japanese bedspread on the floor, blankets neat and tidy. The walls were thick and the loud booming of the thunder was much quieter and more tolerable. Still, though, Chihiro was in the middle of trying to come out of her shock. She still held a tight grip on Haku's clothing as he carried her. He calmly pushed the door closed with his foot and approached the bedspread, then tenderly, gently placed her down on his soft blankets.

"Haku…" Chihiro whispered with tears still in her eyes, but her voice trailed off. Haku was piling one blanket after another on her, but he looked at her with acknowledgement and reassuring eyes, and silently brought a finger to his lips, silencing her. He proceeded in finishing with the blankets, wrapping them securely around her. When he was done, without a word, he brought his hands up and cupped her head on both sides. She stared at him breathlessly, as he connected his forehead with hers and pressed her down with the weight of his head and the force of his hands onto the pillows.

"Haku…" Chihiro repeated in a whisper. She almost couldn't _believe_ the love, the care and delicacy Haku was providing her. She couldn't thank him enough.

"Haku, uh… what can I do to repay…?"

He shooshed her again, brushing back strands of hair from her eyes and then kissed her eyebrow.

"Sleep." He murmured, lacing their fingers together. He pulled back to see her face.

Chihiro, unable to resist, leaned up slightly, staring intently at his comforting green eyes. She continued to move in, slowly. Their foreheads connected once more and Chihiro tilted her head. She lightly, innocently, pecked his lips. This action was so foreign to Haku, he pulled away quickly and reached up to touch his lips in wonder. Chihiro's eyes sparkled and she smiled radiantly.

For a long time, they did nor said nothing. Then, Haku brushed her cheek with his thumb, and leaned to kiss her, so lovingly, on her forehead, as a return gesture.

"Sleep now, Chihiro." He whispered again.

"Only… only if you promise not to leave me." She said, clutching the front of his shirt again. He took his own hands and covered hers with them.

"I promise." 

Chihiro smiled and laid her head back onto the pillows. Haku didn't hesitate once to follow and lie with her, wrapping himself protectively around her from behind. She turned in his arms and rested her head innocently under his chin, which he silently agreed to and rested his chin on top, holding her tighter. By this point, the storm's distant sounds never even existed.

**Sorry if there were a few grammar mistakes or anything like that, this was done quite late at night and I was super tired. D= Haha. Anyways, R&R!**


End file.
